


A Second Chance

by TheMeansOfProcrastination



Category: Alex Rider - Anthony Horowitz, James Bond (Craig movies)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-30
Updated: 2016-09-30
Packaged: 2018-08-18 16:25:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8168425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMeansOfProcrastination/pseuds/TheMeansOfProcrastination
Summary: For Alex it doesn't work in America, so he's shipped back to the UK and Smithers gets him a place in Q branch where a very young deputy Quartermaster takes him under his wing. Now he's just got to recover from his PTSD. But he's got Q and Bond to help with that.





	

The first time the two geniuses met the black haired one was twenty one and the blonde only fifteen. 

R had been sitting in his office, at his ridiculously full desk, when the door had slipped open and a wraith like child entered. He was short in the way that suggested puberty had not yet hit and thin, painfully thin. He had messy blonde hair that fell into his eyes, eyes that seemed haunted by demons R couldn’t see. He wore jeans and a long sleeved top under a checked over shirt, headphones that looked noise cancelling, around his neck. R was horrified to see that he had half his little finger missing on both hands and his ring finger missing on his left. The wounds looked healed, but not that old. R wondered what else was hiding beneath the baggy clothes. The blonde looked wide eyed at the man with the messy hair, cute glasses and cosy looking jumper, then flinched as he heard a shout.

“R!” Seeing the look of fear on the boy’s face Q quickly pulled his chair out and pointed under the desk, without hesitation the boy had dived under it, pulling his knees to his chest.

“Thanks.” He murmured as Q hid him from view. The door slammed open.

“Q?” R asked, seeing the greying man full of anger.

“I’m looking for a kid. Little blonde brat palmed off on me by Smithers upstairs.” The major growled. R’s hand unconsciously tightened at how the man talked of the child under his desk.

“A child? Down here?” R asked, seemingly confused. “Smithers? Isn’t he junior agent branch of us?” Q knew full well he was.

“Yes. Absolute nutter.” R fought the urge to raise an eyebrow at Q. Who was even more eccentric R was sure. “Turns out Blunt has been using that poor kid for years, and no one even knew. Seeing the kid’s potential they sent him down here, but I’ve been with the kid six weeks and haven’t got a peep out of him.” Q growled. Now R was confused. The boy had talked to him, thanked him. Admittedly it was only one word but it was apparently more in thirty seconds that Q had managed in six weeks.

“Why is he down here?” R asked, again.

“I’m training him to be R for when you are Q.” He replied, “We were in the weapons lab and he bolted.”

“Well sir, if you’re training him to be my successor, shouldn’t I be the one training him. You after all are very busy sir.” R wanted the blonde away from him mentor. Q looked at him, chewing his words.

“Very well. I’ll get you his file, all the good it’ll do you. If I see him I’ll send him your way.” Q stormed off. He heard a sigh of relief from under the desk.

“One second kiddo, he bringing your file.” R put his hand under the desk and squeezed the boys shoulder. “Sorry.” He realised his mistake when the blonde stiffened. He moved his chair out slightly, giving him more space. Q barged back in and dumped a very thick file on his desk, then left. R looked down and opened the file.

The front page was all blacked out, bar his first name.

Alex.

The next hundred or so pages were almost all blacked out, R gleaning nothing good from them. He pushed his chair out and offered the boy a hand up. Alex shot it a wary glance and clambered out by himself.

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable back then, I merely wanted to let you know I’m on your side.” R gave him a warm smile, getting a blank expression in return, his eyes were averted but R had seen enough to know they were as dark and troubled as a Double-Oh’s. “Have you seen the film RED?” R asked suddenly, he got a small nod. “Remember when the CIA man goes and gets the file and it’s all blacked out, with RED stamped on it?” Another nod. “I need an RED stamp for your file.” Finally the boy looked at him. “It’s all hidden and you’re retired and probably extremely dangerous. I don’t know what the fuck Blunt was thinking, but Smithers knew what he was doing. You are retired from field work if I have to argue them myself. You are safe and I’m never going to let anyone you don’t want to touch you again.”  
Finally R got an expression off the child. One of pure confusion. And by expression R meant that the façade cracked the tiniest bit and one side of his mouth frowned, while a tiny furrow appeared on his forehead.

“Why?” He asked.

“Because you’re a child. I’d say it’s a fair bet that no one’s treated you like one in a while and I’ll be damned if I let anyone treat you like an agent. I won’t degrade you by treating you like a child if you don’t want me to but let me first buy you lunch.” R pushed back and stood, grabbing his coat.

“Why?” It seemed like although R had gotten more words out of the kid than the major he was limited to one syllable responses.

“Because I’m starving and you look like you haven’t seen food in a week. You need to relax and you sure as fuck aren’t going to do that in here. So, shall we?” He gestured to the door. “Look.” R saw him paused. “I can swear in fourteen languages I mean you no harm, but that’s not going to mean shit until I prove it. I want to start that with lunch? I’ll even bring my poison testing kit if you distrust me that much.” Alex frowned,

“Which ones?” He asked, starting to move, R looked out the door, 

“Q is gone, which what?” He asked as they slipped out Q branch.

“Languages.” Alex replied, softly.

“Ah, English, naturally, French, Mandarin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Bengali, Japanese, Hindi, Turkish and Punjabi.” R rattled off. “Do you speak any?” He got a not in response, “As many as me?” He winked, another nod. R stopped in the middle of the corridor. “More?” He asked, eyes wide, another, more hesitant nod. Delight spread across Q’s face. “Oh dear God I love you already!” He grinned and started moving again. 

Understanding he wasn’t going to get much communication out of the blonde R talked all the way through lunch, stopping for one syllable answers, nods and shakes. He got a few more micro expressions, amusement, confusion and annoyance, the latter not at him, but the man in front of them, walking too slowly. Slowly, ever so slowly, the more R babbled on the more relaxed Alex became. R also got the impression that it would take him a millisecond longer to kill or incapacitate him.

Half way through the park they were eating their toasties in R gasped,

“Oh God!” He exclaimed, “My names Zach, pleasure to meet you.” Zach grinned at him. 

“Alex.” Alex knew he already knew, but it was a show of faith. One that made the man grin even wider. At the end of the walk and lunch R pointed at the headphones around Alex’s neck.

“Noise cancelling?” He checked, Alex gave him a sideways look, one hand going to grab them, as if to protect them. “You’re free to wear them at any point, I won’t take offence.” Alex seemed surprised. “Oh dear lord. The major took them off you didn’t he.” R groaned, a short, sharp nod. “For a very smart man he’s an imbecile.” R shook his head in despair. “Do they cancel the noise out completely? I can, or you can help me, design a new pair? Get a feel for how we work together?” Alex looked at him again, strangely. 

“OK.” He nodded.

“Awesome. So, I am wondering. Do you hate guns?” R asked, Alex froze. Eyes wide. “Q said you ran during weapons training. I, personally, think they’re awful, don’t understand why humans do that to each other, and people always getting shot with their own weapons.” He shook his head as they started moving towards Q branch again, Alex looking at the man in a new light.


End file.
